IDA Credit: US $6.6 million equivalentTerms: Maturity = 38 years, Grace = 6 yearsIDA Grant: US $5.4 million equivalentProject ID: P146970Project Description: The objectives of the project are building... Show More + local capacity in rural areas for participatory development, and improving access to quality community infrastructure services in targeted project areas.For more information, please visit here: http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P146970?lang=en Show Less -

A World Bank-supported project has brought strong social, environmental and economic benefits to local communitiesHUE, March 27, 2015 – More than 43,000 households in central Vietnam have received acc... Show More +ess to micro finance and technical support to establish over 76,500 hectares of forest under a World Bank-supported project.Implemented from 2005 to 2015 in the provinces of Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, Nghe An and Thanh Hoa, the Forest Sector Development Project has brought strong social, environmental and economic benefits to local communities.“Many families have escaped poverty thanks to forest plantations under the project,” said Pham Quoc Chien, Director of the Project Central Coordination Unit.The project funded efforts to survey land and facilitated the issuance of land use right certificates for about 35,000 households. Farmers use the certificates to apply for low-interest loans from the project’s fund managed by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.“The project is the first, and to date, the only one in Vietnam using the approach of lending to small-holder plantation which proves to be much more sustainable, compared to the country’s traditional approach of subsidizing plantation,” said Nguyen Thi Thu Lan, World Bank Sr. Environmental Specialist, Project Task Team Leader.Project officers often provided regular training and on-site support for farmers on developing business plans, budget estimates, planting, monitoring and harvesting.Under the project, a pilot area of 850 hectares received the International Stewardship Forest Certification for meeting strict international technical, social and environmental standards. The price of certified timber is 30% higher than non-certified timber of the same type.More than 400 km of access track have been upgraded, which has lowered transport costs, significantly increased labor productivity and income as well as generated more employment for local people. The project has also supported the construction of 86 fire watchtowers and 102 information boards across the project area to raise public awareness on forest protection and minimize risks of forest fires and damages.Although the project was completed in March 2015, the revolving fund, managed by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, will continue to run for 20 more years after the project completion, so many more households will have access to this source of credits.“The modernization of forestry approaches under the project is an internal part of Vietnam’s efforts to modernize agriculture,” said Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Country Director for Vietnam. “I hope that good practice from this project can be scaled up so many more households in Vietnam will have access to credits and modern forest plantation approaches.”The project received financing of more than 100 million USD from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group, the Trust Fund for Forestry, and the Government of Vietnam. Show Less -

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2015 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved financing in the amount of US$12 million equivalent for the Third Village Investment Project in the Kyrgyz Rep... Show More +ublic. US$6.6 million is a highly concessional credit and US$ US$5.4 million is a grant.The Third Village Investment Project (VIP-3) aims to build the capacity of local self-governments to work with their communities to plan and implement local development programs. In particular, the project will work with local community members, local administration staff and local council members to increase their capacity for participatory development through social mobilization, training and peer-to-peer learning activities. It will also support the design and implementation of sub- and micro-projects from local investment plans to improve access of rural citizens to quality community infrastructure services.The project will be implemented over five years by the Community Development and Investment Agency (ARIS) in four northern regions (Naryn, Issykkul, Chui and Talas oblasts) and will directly benefit 266 communities with nearly 29,000 citizens. Targeted villages will develop local investment plans through a participatory process in which communities assess local needs and identify priorities for investments, taking into account needs of women and vulnerable groups such as youth and children.Village investment projects for financing under VIP-3 will be selected through a competitive process. Local development plans will be judged against a set of criteria, and those ranked highest will have their priorities funded. A comprehensive selection process will be developed, with special attention paid to criteria that will help engage and strengthen weaker municipalities in the competition.“The VIP-3 project will work with only rural communities, where the highest number of low-income people reside. The investments will provide important enduring benefits for poor communities, reflecting national development strategy and local priorities,” says Jean-Michel Happi, World Bank’s Country Manager for the Kyrgyz Republic. “For example, rehabilitation of schools and health clinics will contribute to reducing high maternal mortality rates and improving education services for the rural poor. Other demand-driven investments will help expand the power supply and thus support productive activity.”The VIP-3 project will build on the achievements of the World Bank-supported Village Investment Project (VIP-1, 2003-2008) and Second Village Investment Project (VIP-2, 2006-2014), both implemented by ARIS. These projects helped to establish village and local investment committees that mobilize communities and internal resources for planning and implementing investment activities. The VIP-1 Project helped 1,661 villages to implement 4,344 micro projects. 475 ayil aymaks (local municipalities) participated in VIP-2 Project and about 2.3 million people benefited directly from the completion of about 6,000 micro projects.The World Bank’s overall mission in the Kyrgyz Republic is to reduce poverty, promote economic growth and shared prosperity. 45 percent of the World Bank’s assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic is in the form of grants. The other 55 percent is in highly concessional credits with no interest, and only a 0.75 percent service charge. Credits are repayable in 38 years, including a 6-year grace period, while grants require no repayment. The Bank’s financial assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic since 1992 amounts to over US$1 billion. Show Less -

Another benefit from the arrival of community-based water organizations: funds to share with the community, and jobs.“The Bumdes contributes 10% of its net profit to the village,” says Aang Kunaefi, a... Show More + Bumdes secretary in Bongas. “So the benefit for the community is more than just clean water.”At present, Bongas families enjoy clean water 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Bumdes serves 544 house connections – that’s 1,706 users – and hope to expand beyond Bongas.Omkartowajaya, head of the Bumdes, said, “We want to offer our services to nearby villages, and we will need access to financing for both expansion and for maintenance. We need all the help we can get from our stakeholders.” Transformation from an informal entity to a legal enterpriseTo help secure financing for the Bumdes, Mitra Prima has also tapped into rural development banks fully owned by local governments. The banks are moving ahead with their partnership plans with several Bumdes.Anton Abdul Rosyid of Subang Rural Development Bank explains that they are driven by both business motives and social conscience. “We have both social and commercial goals. For the social objective, we want to improve the livelihood of the communities, by improving their access to clean water. But we also see huge business potential,” says Rosyid.These initiatives are in line with the government’s target of provididing an additional 10 million house connections by 2019 – the year when Indonesia aims to achieve universal access to clean water for the whole country. That in the process has also helped the villages improve their economy – that’s an added incentive that will hopefully lead to even better results. Show Less -

Grassroots Action to Create Jobs and Catalyze Growth at the Local LevelWASHINGTON, March 13, 2015 - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$30 million loan for the Social Inves... Show More +tment and Local Development (SILD) Project in Armenia. This project will further assist the Government of Armenia to improve the quality, use of and access to community infrastructure for the poor and vulnerable groups.Local populations throughout Armenia will benefit from renovated and rehabilitated social infrastructure such as schools, kindergartens, health and social service facilities, community centers, water supply, waste management, as well as economic infrastructure such as irrigation systems, agro-processing and storage facilities, markets, etc. Priority needs will be identified through assessments of economic development potential and prioritization by the communities.“The new project will directly benefit about 150 communities, mostly rural, and enable them to identify their own investment needs,” said Laura Bailey, World Bank Country Manager for Armenia. “I am particularly happy that this project will create much-needed jobs, thus contributing to income generation in participating communities. We estimate that approximately 300 permanent and 1,100 temporary jobs will be created, with more than US$8 million in wage income generated in vulnerable communities.”SILD has grown out of one of the oldest WB-supported projects, Armenian Social Investment Fund (ASIF), which has been addressing territorial imbalances in the country for almost 20 years. ASIF has proven to be an effective tool in responding to the needs of the poor and promoting economic growth in remote and isolated villages. As in the past, the success of the program will depend on how well local communities would be able to sustain the new investments.The project has three components. The first component supports socio-economic development at the local level following the model of ASIF and will implement micro-projects covering 120 communities. SILD will target rehabilitation and development of public, social, economic, and environmental community infrastructure and services. It will also build institutional and financial capacity at the local level for implementation of these activities.The second component – inter-community social and economic development initiatives – will finance socioeconomic initiatives with the potential for longer-term development impacts by bringing together two or more communities. This new collaborative development approach will provide additional incentives for communities to explore development synergies and opportunities in line with the concept of the territorial development reform. Overall, SILD will fund the design, selection and implementation of abound 30 inter-community sub-projects.The third component will support ASIF’s transition to Armenian Territorial Development Fund (ATDF) to evolve ASIF’s work from small, discrete projects to larger, sustainable development projects, in line with the objectives of the Armenian Development Strategy 2012-2025 of reducing socio-economic disparities and promoting harmonic regional development. Key dimensions of the transition will include development of new tools and approaches for appraisal, promotion and selection of inter-community projects; organizational development; and staff capacity building. “These initiatives have both social and economic impact and can catalyze future economic growth and human capital development for a region or group of communities,” said Erkin Mamadaliev, World Bank Task Team Leader of the Project. “We are expecting that the project will also strengthen inter-community dialogue across the country, priority-setting and development planning and management. The project will be specifically focused on vulnerable and lagging regions.”Total financing of the project is US$42.85 million, of which the Government of Armenia will finance US$11 million and US$1.85 million will be provided by beneficiary communities. The US$30 million is an IBRD flexible loan with variable spread with a 14.5-year grace period and repayment of 25 years.Since joining the World Bank in 1992 and IDA in 1993, the total IDA and IBRD commitments to Armenia amount to US$2,066.730 million. Show Less -

Strategic Climate Fund Grant: US $4.73 million equivalentProject ID: P128748Project Description: The objective of the project is to organize and facilitate knowledge exchange, learning and capacity bu... Show More +ilding for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) at regional and global levels, and to strengthen the networks and alliances of IPLC organizations within and across regions with a view to enhancing their representation and voice in regional and global policy fora.For more information, please visit here:http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P128748/fip-grant-mechanism-indigenous-peoples-local-communities?lang=en Show Less -

Investment enhances Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction ProjectWASHINGTON, D.C., February 27, 2015—The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $100 million in additional financing for an o... Show More +ngoing project to help improve living standards for poor people in six provinces in Vietnam’s Northwest, the nation’s poorest region.The increased financing bolsters poverty reduction efforts by the Vietnamese government in the provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Yen Bai.“We are very pleased to see this additional financing approved by our Board of Directors,” said Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank’s Country Director in Vietnam. “The project areas have some of the highest rates of poverty, and most of the project beneficiaries are poor ethnic minority communities. We share the government of Vietnam’s strong desire to reduce poverty through the community-driven development approach embedded in this project, and we stand ready to work with the government to scale up the project’s successes.”The additional financing will contribute further to the government’s poverty reduction efforts by improving the capacity of local governments and communities, increasing access to investments that boost productivity, strengthening commune investment planning, and bolstering community links to markets and business innovations.In particular, the project focuses on expanding support for poverty reduction efforts in the six provinces where it started, as well as additional districts and communes.It also seeks to improve local development planning and help make a participatory approach part of the government’s national poverty reduction programs, with a focus on strengthening of partnerships between farmer groups and agro-businesses.The government of Vietnam is providing $10 million in financing in addition to the $100 million from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s concessional lending arm. Show Less -

10 young film crews from 10 different countries around the world were chosen as winners in the Action4Climate competition. As a prize winner in the 14-17 age category, Zura received production equipme... Show More +nt, including a GoPro and an iPad Mini, which can help him to hone his skills and talents – and hopefully inspire him to create more interesting climate change stories.The Action4Climate competition challenged filmmakers to raise awareness of climate change, share experiences and inspire action by creating a video documentary. The response was overwhelming. More than 230 videos from 70 countries were submitted, bringing to life the serious consequences of climate change across the world and highlighting the actions taken by local communities to tackle it.---------------------------------------------------Connect4Climate (C4C) is a campaign, a coalition and a community dedicated to stimulating local actions that will catalyze larger, international, multifaceted movements to deal with global warming and its impact on the planet. It works with more than 200 partner organizations around the world and is funded by the World Bank Group and the Italian Ministry of the Environment. Show Less -

Through a World Bank-funded program, citizens can participate in improving the quality of public services, including health, education, rural roads, agriculture and water and sanitation. The Social Ac... Show More +countability (SA) component of the Promoting Basic Services Program Phase II (PBSII), a multi-donor initiative launched in 2006, helped establish a system for citizen participation by entrenching transparency and accountability at local and community levels. This also helps citizens hold policymakers and service providers accountable for their performance.“Prior to the introduction of Social Accountability in this wereda I did not even know what it meant,” said Firehiwot Mamo, a resident of Wereda 11, one of 232 weredas where the SA program has been implemented. “Once I became aware of Social Accountability, I quickly realized that I can use it to voice my needs and concerns and I became a member of social accountability committee and started encouraging others like me to get involved.”Frehiwot said before the SA program the health center was not accessible to people with disabilities, and was associated with sub-standard services, long queues, poor sanitation facilities, a shortage of medical supplies, and lack of accountability among healthcare providers. Through the SA program, which empowers more than 8,800 citizens and 20 citizen groups, things have changed. “We demanded equal access and the service providers agreed and build a wheelchair ramp,” said Frehiwot.Under its current phase, the PBS program provides grants to 49 local non-governmental organizations who work as social accountability implementing partners (SAIPs) with local organizations, especially targeting vulnerable groups for participation in the process, such as the elderly, people living with HIV, women, and people with disabilities. This has led to marked improvements in service delivery at both the wereda, or district levels, as well as local, or kebele levels. The SA process begins by providing information to citizens about service standards, plans, targets and budget. Armed with this information, citizen’s use report cards to rate the services they have received. Then the citizens have meetings with service providers to discuss the issues, and identify and agree on solutions, and create a Joint Action Plan is created and implemented. The process and improvements are monitored by the SA Committee. “Prior to the program, we did not care much about the views or complaints of our customers, said Mesfin Beyene, Head of Wereda 11 Health Center. “We had no systematic way of getting feedback about our services. The SA program has allowed us to openly identify and discuss challenges and find solutions to them. This has led to improvements in the cleanliness of our toilet, availability of drugs, delivery room management and so on. I can now honestly say that we are fulfilling our main duty which is satisfying our customers.”The improvements in service delivery have increased the confidence of citizens that they can get the services they need at the health center, increasing the number of customers. During a visit to the health center in December 2014, Guang Z. Chen, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia, had the opportunity to see the improvements and hear from some of the service users and providers.“This morning, I met the newest customer of the healthcare center, who entered this world in the delivery room,” Chen said. “She was sleeping peacefully in her mother’s arms. When I asked her mother how she felt, with a smile she told me how relieved she was to have delivered her baby safely in such a clean place with very helpful and skilled health care providers.”The Social Accountability program brings communities, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and service providers together, the PBS - Ethiopia Social Accountability Program phase 2 (PBS-ESAP2) is making a notable difference in the provision of quality health care services.In addition to contributing to the overall well-being of Ethiopians, the program is helping to address critical health sector challenges including the reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates and contributing to Ethiopia’s progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. Show Less -

De-Mystifying and Calming UnrestMining interests in the Kyrgyz Republic have been through a tumultuous couple of years recently. In some instances, people who were angry about perceived environmental ... Show More +damage have blocked roads and stopped mine operations for a period of days. Ulanbek Ryskulov of the State Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources says EITI helps minimize unrest by de-mystifying mining companies’ operations. “It is good for us, EITI helps quiet the protests now that we can clearly show the people how much the companies make, how much they to pay to the local community and to the national budget.”Abdylda Temirberdiev runs a CSO near the city of Osh. He says that EITI has made mining companies more responsive to the demands of local communities, which has improved relations and soothes tensions. “It’s very helpful in getting companies to be more responsible. A good example is someone trying to dump byproducts illegally. We complained and they had to go get what they’d dumped and do it properly.” Show Less -

Senior representatives officiate US$2.7 million project fundingDILI, February 6, 2015 – The Government of Timor-Leste and the World Bank today signed a US$2.7 million grant agreement that will fi... Show More +nance the Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) project, in a ceremony attended by senior Government, World Bank and diplomatic officials.The project, approved in August 2014, aims to increase the capacity of communities and local level agencies along the Dili-Ainaro road corridor, to help reduce the impacts of natural disasters – in particular recurring landslides and floods.“Through this project we will support the Government of Timor-Leste in reducing the vulnerability of people living along the Dili-Ainaro road by improving their ability to manage risks from natural disasters,” said Bolormaa Amgaabazar, World Bank Country Representative for Timor-Leste. “We have adopted a community-based approach – enabling communities to take the lead in planning and managing the risks they face.”Through a series of activities, the project will help improve the understanding and communication of landslide and flooding risks faced by communities along the Dili-Ainaro road corridor, and facilitate risk-informed planning and investments to reduce disaster impacts on communities.The project will train officials and community members from approximately 26 sucos on various aspects of community based disaster risk management. Comprehensive suco level disaster management plans will be prepared and small scale projects to reduce disaster risks will be piloted in the sucos.“The impact of disasters is acutely felt in Timor-Leste given the low capacity of institutions to prepare ahead of disasters,” said the Minister of Social Solidarity, Government of Timor-Leste. “Empowering communities to manage and develop their response to climate disasters is essential to ensuring the safety of our people.”The agreement was signed by HE Isabel Amaral Guterres, Minister of Social Solidarity and; Bolormaa Amgaabazar, World Bank Country Representative, at the office of the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The ceremony was also attended by HE Jacinto Rigoberto de Deus, Vice-Minister of Social Solidarity; HE Eiji Yamato, Ambassador of Japan and; Noura Hamladji, UNDP Country Director and; Sylvie Tabesse, Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation.The US$2.7 million project is fully funded by the Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD), which is financed by the Government of Japan and managed by the World Bank.World Bank support for the Disaster Risk Management/Climate Change Adaptation program in Timor-Leste is coordinated and developed jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with whom the World Bank will work closely.EU funding through the Africa Caribbean Pacific – EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery enabled the development of hazard risk assessments in communities along the Dili-Ainaro road corridor and Community-Based Disaster Risk Management guidelines, which will help guide project implementation moving forward. The National Disaster Management Directorate (NDMD) in the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS), which is the main agency responsible for coordinating disaster risk management in Timor-Leste, will be the implementing agency. The grant is for a three year period ending in October, 2017. Show Less -

Kenya's new Constitution mandates a
new era of public participation in government, particularly
within the devolved government structure. The new devolved
structure... Show More +s can benefit from reviewing the country's
prior experience with participation in decentralized funds.
The Kenyan government and citizens gained extensive
experience in local participatory development through
decentralized programs and funds, in particular the local
authority transfer fund (LATF) and the constituency
development fund (CDF). This paper focuses on the two
development funds because participatory initiatives both by
the government and the civil society were centered on them.
This paper reviews Kenya's past experiences on public
participation in local service delivery to highlight
practical lessons that county governments can draw from as
they design participation mechanisms. Show Less -

ULAANBAATAR, January 30, 2015 – A new agreement with Mongolia provides $22.7 million for the third phase of a project supporting the country’s effort to empower rural communities in a more diversified... Show More + and modern economy, the World Bank announced today.The Third Sustainable Livelihoods Project (SLP III) will help Mongolia further implement the Integrated Budget Law of 2011 that gave rural communities a greater role in the government-funding process.SLP III also supports local economic development through the “Soum Program” that promotes investments for private sector growth in the more than 300 soums – or local administrative districts – throughout the country.Mongolia’s Minister of Finance, D. Erdenebat, signed the credit agreement today with Bert Hofman, the World Bank’s Country Director for China, Korea and Mongolia.“The adoption of the Integrated Budget Law was a major milestone for empowering rural communities and provides a transparent mechanism for fiscal transfers for local development,” Hofman said. “With this in place, the SLP III project will build the capacity of local governments and communities to manage local development initiatives.”Since its inception in 2002, the three-phase Sustainable Livelihoods Program has backed efforts by the Mongolian government and the international community to modernize a mostly rural and under-developed economy.The first phase, from 2002-2007, demonstrated new approaches to make a living in rural areas by establishing community development funds that helped introduce the concept of community participation to identify needed investments such as pastoral risk management.In the second phase, from 2007-2013, an expanded program led to community development fund financing for more than 6,000 sub-projects, mostly for investments in education and health.Now SLP III will boost continued implementation of the Integrated Budget Law, government decentralization policy, and other reforms.It will build capacity for the government Local Development Funds, which finance investments in infrastructure and services at the local level. Under the budget law, LDF allocations get decided each year through a robust participatory process at the community level.The project also will bolster the Soum Program, which offers incentives to local government entities that adopt participatory processes to reflect local needs and priorities in their planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.Funding for the SLP III Project comes from the $22.7 million credit from the World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA), and an $11.4 million grant from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org/mongolia Show Less -

“We were called by the agriculture officers in the Nambale division, who informed us that a special program had organized a dairy farmers meeting,” Kokonya said. “We were taught a lot of things … we w... Show More +ere also taught the importance of that program of dairy, because at the end of the day it will create employment to uplift the standard of living of people within this area.”The vast majority of Kenya’s poor live in rural areas like Nambale, a small but growing rural town center about 256 miles west of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. While populations in the western parts of the country benefit from better natural resource endowments, the poor remain especially prone to contracting insect- and water-borne diseases, and agricultural potential has been limited by the effects of flood-induced land degradation in some areas.Although resources have been allocated in response to these challenges, many community members have had limited opportunities to help decide how and where resources are spent. Through the project, poor people in marginalized communities have their voices heard by engaging more effectively with their local governments. Community-driven development also supports them in identifying, developing, implementing and monitoring development initiatives based on their priorities.The project also provides skills training so to help them to identify, manage and implement wealth-creating livelihood micro-projects through cooperatives such as the dairy cooperative. These small-farmer cooperatives are also able to mobilize technical and financial assistance as well as support to address local development priorities.Through the project, communities are also empowered to develop smaller livelihood-enhancing, poverty-fighting development projects ranging from mushroom growing, chicken farming, goat keeping, craft making, basket weaving, beekeeping, and soap making.The project has financed nearly 500 projects worth almost $3 million in Western Kenyan communities, increasing the income of more than 2 million Kenyans by 28% since 2007.“While Geoffrey’s story is not unique, creating the space for the locals to own a piece of their future and for dreams to flourish is a journey out of poverty which we are privileged to be a part of, one dream at a time,” said Nyambura Githagui, former World Bank team task leader for the project. Show Less -

Malnutrition among both women and
children remains a major health issue in rural Pakistan.
They also lack voice in relation to important health and
nutritional deci... Show More +sions within their homes, for both
themselves and their children, and they are systematically
excluded from decision making at the community level. This
study assesses the extent to which: (1) increasing the
participation of women in the public sphere results in an
increased use of health facilities, particularly for child
and maternal needs, and in improved health outcomes; and (2)
whether targeted interventions that provide information on
health status and health behaviors needed for better hygiene
and disease prevention are necessary for substantial
improvements in health status, over and above any impacts of
empowerment. This study builds upon an existing evaluation
of a Pakistan poverty alleviation fund project (a World Bank
supported community based development initiative) which
investigates the impact of mobilizing communities into
village support organizations (VSOs) and providing them with
village level grants for community infrastructure
development and livelihood enhancement. The health score
card will provide specific information regarding minimum
standards of service delivery and quality of care at the
local level (basic health units (BHUs), primary health care
(RHCs), and lady health workers (LHWs)). This will allow
further exploration of additional impacts of increasing
awareness through targeted information provision with and
without a strengthening of the door to door delivery system
via the LHW. Show Less -

Through a World Bank-funded program, citizens can participate in improving the quality of public services, including health, education, rural roads, agriculture and water and sanitation. The Social Ac... Show More +countability (SA) component of the Promoting Basic Services Program Phase II (PBSII), a multi-donor initiative launched in 2006, helped establish a system for citizen participation by entrenching transparency and accountability at local and community levels. This also helps citizens hold policymakers and service providers accountable for their performance.“Prior to the introduction of Social Accountability in this wereda I did not even know what it meant,” said Firehiwot Mamo, a resident of Wereda 11, one of 232 weredas where the SA program has been implemented. “Once I became aware of Social Accountability, I quickly realized that I can use it to voice my needs and concerns and I became a member of social accountability committee and started encouraging others like me to get involved.”Frehiwot said before the SA program the health center was not accessible to people with disabilities, and was associated with sub-standard services, long queues, poor sanitation facilities, a shortage of medical supplies, and lack of accountability among healthcare providers. Through the SA program, which empowers more than 8,800 citizens and 20 citizen groups, things have changed. “We demanded equal access and the service providers agreed and build a wheelchair ramp,” said Frehiwot.Under its current phase, the PBS program provides grants to 49 local non-governmental organizations who work as social accountability implementing partners (SAIPs) with local organizations, especially targeting vulnerable groups for participation in the process, such as the elderly, people living with HIV, women, and people with disabilities. This has led to marked improvements in service delivery at both the wereda, or district levels, as well as local, or kebele levels. The SA process begins by providing information to citizens about service standards, plans, targets and budget. Armed with this information, citizen’s use report cards to rate the services they have received. Then the citizens have meetings with service providers to discuss the issues, and identify and agree on solutions, and create a Joint Action Plan is created and implemented. The process and improvements are monitored by the SA Committee. “Prior to the program, we did not care much about the views or complaints of our customers, said Mesfin Beyene, Head of Wereda 11 Health Center. “We had no systematic way of getting feedback about our services. The SA program has allowed us to openly identify and discuss challenges and find solutions to them. This has led to improvements in the cleanliness of our toilet, availability of drugs, delivery room management and so on. I can now honestly say that we are fulfilling our main duty which is satisfying our customers.”The improvements in service delivery have increased the confidence of citizens that they can get the services they need at the health center, increasing the number of customers. During a visit to the health center in December 2014, Guang Z. Chen, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia, had the opportunity to see the improvements and hear from some of the service users and providers.“This morning, I met the newest customer of the healthcare center, who entered this world in the delivery room,” Chen said. “She was sleeping peacefully in her mother’s arms. When I asked her mother how she felt, with a smile she told me how relieved she was to have delivered her baby safely in such a clean place with very helpful and skilled health care providers.”The Social Accountability program brings communities, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and service providers together, the PBS - Ethiopia Social Accountability Program phase 2 (PBS-ESAP2) is making a notable difference in the provision of quality health care services.In addition to contributing to the overall well-being of Ethiopians, the program is helping to address critical health sector challenges including the reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates and contributing to Ethiopia’s progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. Show Less -

Early Warning“I thought people were joking when they said the sea is coming inland. Then I saw a gush of blackish water coming towards my house which is more than 100m from the sea…I grabbed my sleepi... Show More +ng children and shouted out to my husband to run. This was the only warning we got,” said K.K. Sriyani from Talpe in Galle, who is now the Secretary of the community based disaster management committee. At that time, they did not know which direction to run. Today, with the coordination of the DMC and its community based activities including early warning drills, the village is now prepared to congregate at the temple which is situated on higher ground, and is equipped to give refuge to people in time of a disaster.With the lessons learnt following the 2004 tsunami, the Disaster Management Center (DMC), under the Ministry of Disaster Management has been leading efforts to enhance disaster risk management in close collaboration with development partners working in Sri Lanka. Working together, this group has been able to create a “culture of safety in Sri Lanka. Establishment of early warning systems including robust communications links with local and international technical agencies, an around the clock emergency operations center, and engaging people from the grassroots level in both disaster awareness and mitigation activities.“We now have an early warning tower and people are more aware on what needs to be done” said K.P. Pradeep from the DMC Galle explaining his role as an Assistant Coordinator engaged in community based activities promoting awareness among villagers, coordinating early warning drills and gathering disaster risk related information to report to the DMC Galle, which is based in the District Secretariat in Galle. “The tower can be activated in any part of the country through the DMC in Colombo,” said Pradeep, further explaining the early warning system that is in place.Disaster Risk ManagementThe fiscal and physical impacts of natural disasters in Sri Lanka have been sizable over the past decade, particularly flooding and drought. In recognition of the social and economic effects of climate-related hazards, the Sri Lankan Government with the assistance of the World Bank is taking steps to strengthen the country’s resilience to natural disasters and climate change through a comprehensive program of support involving adaptation enhancing investments and a Catastrophe Deferred Draw-Down Option (CAT-DDO).The Climate Resilience Improvement Project (CRIP) aims to reduce the vulnerability of exposed people and assets to climate risks and to improve the government’s capacity to respond effectively to future disasters. These objectives will be achieved through evidence-based investment planning and urgent risk mitigation measures. The development policy loan with CAT-DDO instrument offers immediate funds to the Government upon declaring a state of an emergency in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, thereby strengthening its fiscal resilience to natural disasters. Show Less -

With the help of a World Bank-funded project, the community is working hard to change that. About 40 young people are clearing a 43km path to make it usable by vehicles, with support from the Local Go... Show More +vernance and Service Delivery Project (LGSDP). The path connects to the main road leading to the Ibba County Headquarters, making the area more accessible and easier for the government to deliver services to those who live there.The LGSDP is the flagship project of the Government of South Sudan, which aims to deliver services to the rural poor while simultaneously strengthening the capacity of county governments. The $98.5 million project helps to strengthen the link between local government and rural beneficiaries through Payam Development Grants, which are spent on projects that have been prioritized by the communities.The project also engages non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to manage a community mobilization exercise focusing on conflict and social mapping, and ensuring participation of all members of the community. The process encourages communities to prepare a list of their priorities that are incorporated into county development plans and budgets, and supported by a technical assistance firm. The communities in Moruko Payam unanimously selected the access road project as a priority, to connect their communities with the county capital of Ibba. The motivated youth, equipped with tools such as hoes, axes, shovels and rakes, have been spearheading this clearing effort with support from the Directorate of Roads in the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure in Western Equatoria. In response to the community members’ request, the county government has agreed to support them with machinery to help clear the larger trees, including a chainsaw and someone to operate it.“The success of the Moruko feeder road project is an indication that the ideas championed by the LGSDP are viable and worth pursuing,” said Paskwale Kazini, director general of the Western Equatoria State Ministry of Local Government.With the work now nearing completion, Francis boasts that Moruko Payam will now be able to catch up with the rest of the Ibba County in development, and allow them to open the area to tourists interested in fish and wildlife.The project has also inspired other payams, said John Kamingara, executive director of Ibba County.“Other payams of the county where the project has not yet reached are eagerly waiting for their turn,” he said. The LGSDP is currently covering 10 counties in four states throughout South Sudan, and is supporting projects identified by communities, including water, health and education. Martin Onyach-Olaa, World Bank senior urban specialist and task team leader for the project said the objective of the project is to empower county governments and strengthen their capacity so they can respond to the community’s needs. In a country still struggling with conflict, Onyach-Olaa said it is important for communities to see tangible benefits being provided by their government. “I was greatly impressed by the enthusiasm of the communities and their contributions to this project, as well as the government’s responsiveness and support to the people,” he said. Show Less -

Local communities in Peru are helping make decisions that impact the country's forests—including the Amazon, which covers over half of the country, but is being cleared for subsistence ... Show More +farming and industrial agriculture, as well as due to illegal logging. With support from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and the Forest Investment Program (FIP), Peru's Ministry of Environment, along with agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture, is preparing a program to keep the natural forest standing and to reduce carbon emissions. Local communities are also being engaged in Peru’s REDD+ readiness programs. To date, over one thousand people have been reached through workshops, roundtables, and direct coordination on REDD+.Going even further than meaningful participation is the joint preparation of the Saweto Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Peru. The Bank is supporting Indigenous leaders to design the Saweto DGM that will be governed by them and will be implemented at the community level. The Saweto DGM will finance land titling and community forestry--both high priorities for Indigenous Peoples. Implementing forest strategies, from the bottom upLikewise, Nicaragua has developed a participatory platform on the country’s forestry strategy operating at the political, technical and local implementation level. The RACCN (Northern-Caribbean Autonomous Region of Nicaragua) and the RACCS (Southern-Caribbean Autonomous Region of Nicaragua) have actively contributed to the technical and political dialogue through this platform. As such, this three-layered structure channels the national forestry strategy proposals from the bottom up prioritizing inputs from the community-level.New partnerships for forestsAction on REDD+ is strengthening partnerships between Indigenous Peoples, forest dependent communities and the programs that are intended to preserve their natural forest and reduce emissions.In Mexico, REDD+ is developing in the context of a strong land tenure system and community-based forest activity. Peru and Nicaragua illustrate how REDD+ can shape the spirit of dialogue with indigenous communities, and enable social inclusion in forestry. Involving local communities in the design, decision making and management of forest programs makes them more successful—and this is promising for forests, and forest communities. Show Less -

DAVAO CITY, November 28, 2014—The World Bank Group (WBG) is scaling up assistance for rural development and job creation in Mindanao under its new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) in support of the ... Show More +peace process in the southern part of the country. The WBG is supporting two new government projects this year that have allocated about P14 billion pesos to boost community-driven development projects, build rural infrastructure, and expand livelihood opportunities for farmers and fisher folk in Mindanao. · The National Community-Driven Development Project (NCDDP) is designed to empower poor communities to participate in local planning, budgeting and implementation of community-level projects that help reduce poverty. The project has allocated P8.74 billion for Mindanao. Poor communities organize themselves, prepare project proposals to address their common problems, and compete for block grants to finance their own projects. Typical investments may include local infrastructure such as water systems, school buildings, day care centers and health stations, as well as roads and bridges.· The Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) supports rural infrastructure as well as small business and livelihood projects for farmers and fisher folk. To date, local government units in Mindanao and the Department of Agriculture have prepared several projects, mostly farm-to-market roads worth P5.3 billion, of which P501 million will be for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.“The World Bank Group is scaling up support for rural development and job creation in the region by providing critical infrastructure and promoting private investment in agri-business,” said World Bank Operations Officer Lilanie Magdamo, in a multi-stakeholder dialogue co-organized with the University of Southeastern Philippines for the presentation of the new partnership strategy for the country in Davao City. “We are encouraged by the recent completion of the Bangsamoro Development Plan and the efforts of the government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and other sectors of society to promote stability and lay the foundations for lasting peace and development in Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro. Together with other development partners, we are committed to contribute to these efforts,” said International Finance Corporation (IFC) Resident Representative Jesse Ang during the CPS dialogue. Mr. Ang said that the IFC—a member of the WBG which focuses on the private sector—and its private sector partners are currently discussing investments that will generate at least 6,000 jobs in Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro. World Bank-assisted public programs will complement these efforts by providing critical support for the construction and rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation facilities and water supply. It will also provide technical assistance to local communities to expand livelihood opportunities and small business enterprises. According to Mr. Ang, international experience suggests that breaking the cycle of violence requires legitimate institutions – with technical capacity and accountability – that can deliver security, justice and jobs. The WBG will continue to provide assistance to the long-term process of building legitimate institutions in Mindanao and the Bangsamoro through technical capacity building and training, as well as transparency initiatives especially in service delivery, he said.BackgroundThe Country Partnership Strategy is considered the WBG’s business plan that supports the Philippines’ development strategy. It has identified key areas where the Bank Group can promote development and help reduce poverty:· Transparent and accountable governance: strengthening public financial management, improving fiscal transparency and financial accountability, and supporting greater demand from citizens for government accountability.· Empowerment of the poor and vulnerable: improving health and education outcomes, strengthening social protection and ensuring the availability of more timely and improved measurements of poverty.· Rapid, inclusive and sustained economic growth: promoting economic policy reform for inclusive growth, boosting private sector development by improving the investment climate for firms of all sizes, including greater access to finance, and increasing productivity and job creation, especially in rural areas.· Climate change, environment, and disaster risk management: increasing physical, financial and institutional resilience to natural disasters and climate change impacts, and improving natural resource management and sustainable development; and· Peace, institution building, and social and economic opportunity: supporting social and economic development in conflict-affected regions in Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro.About the World Bank GroupThe World Bank Group plays a key role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. It consists of five institutions: the World Bank, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Working together in more than 100 countries, these institutions provide financing, advice, and other solutions that enable countries to address the most urgent challenges of development. Show Less -